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Being new to powerlifting and weight training in general, my advice is to find a group of powerlifters and train with them. That is what I did, and in 2 months I put 30lbs on my squat, 20 on my bench, and 65 on my deadlift. The difference between training alone and training with guys who know what they are doing is unreal.

Being new to powerlifting and weight training in general, my advice is to find a group of powerlifters and train with them. That is what I did, and in 2 months I put 30lbs on my squat, 20 on my bench, and 65 on my deadlift. The difference between training alone and training with guys who know what they are doing is unreal.

Theres a big problem with that. There are no gyms nearby that have powerlifters.

Hello, i would like to compete some day in a powerlifting event. I would like to know what kind of training or program i should use to get as strong as possible.

Here are my stats:

Age, height weight: 20, 5'10'', 176 lbs.

wow thats crazy I am exactly the same age, height, and weight (176.7) to be exact..

Learn the principle, abide by the principle, and dissolve the principle. In short, enter a mold without being caged in it. Obey the principle without being bound by it. LEARN, MASTER AND ACHIEVE!!! - Bruce Lee

Theres a big problem with that. There are no gyms nearby that have powerlifters.

I would check Powerliftingwatch for gyms near you. If there aren't any, then I would google powerlifting and your area's name you might find something. Before I moved to Arkansas, I had a powerlifting gym which made a huge difference. Now I don't have access to that type of gym and am lucky that I was able to lock my form down before I moved because I have found a huge difference. If you can't find anything, then I would invest in a video camera and from time to time, take videos of your lifts and post them here for feedback.

dont let the fact that there is no one who can powerlift with you stop you,you just have to get creative.if you have a gym with a powerrack get some chain and set the loop at the bottom to be where you would be at the bottom of your squat so if youcan not get back up on you last rep or whatever you can let the bar fall on the chain to catch it then simply walk away unharmed,for deads you dont need a partner just some nose torque and a desire to do it,bench is more difficult to do alone but what gym doesnt have a bench?there will always be someone around to help you bench just ask around.you need to just say how bad do i want it and get off your ass and do it,you will find that powerlifters are different than bodybuilders,less ego,more willingness to help but powerlifters also hate excuses so if they find you coming up with reasons not to lift,not giving it your all they will not help but if you put effort in it they are some of the best guys in the world

Manhattab NY. I used that powerlifitng watch website but the gyms are very far away from me. The gym i currently go to is gladiators on columbia st. It has all the stuff i need but there are no powerlifters nor big guys there.

If you are serious about it, you will travel. There are powerlifting teams on Long Island, in Queens and I know some guys who compete who live in NYC. You really have to search the powerlifting websites and ask if there is anyone in your area to lift with.

We are running a powerlifting meet in Eastern LI on December 6th. We have people coming out from NYC and Jersey to come lift.

You'll find something there for sure. It will pay more than you will ever know to find a group of experienced lifters. I train by myself because I have no other choice but Im 100% sure I'll be more advanced if I had knowledgeable training partners. And I'll suire as hell make the trip to USA one day to train for some time with strong lifters. Go get some training partners.

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends"

John 15:13 KJB

"Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men. Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks"

I've tried just about every routine over the years and I have found that you have to change it up from time to time. What has always worked best for me, in the bench press at least, is low reps and heavy weight....typically 3-5 reps with ocasional paused reps...sometimes really long pauses. I train a body part only once a week. The MOST IMPORTANT aspect of lifting is good form and technique. Don't develop bad habits. Loose form will almost always end in an injury.

A 5x5 program or the WS4SB are both good basic programs, both should take you a lot farther than a 205 bench and 295 squat if done properly over time. You need to learn right now that there is no magic program. As long as you're following a decent program/plan, you can get stronger than you are today. You just need to put in lots of hard work on a good basic program and EAT. Spend time getting stronger in the basics.

A 5x5 program or the WS4SB are both good basic programs, both should take you a lot farther than a 205 bench and 295 squat if done properly over time. You need to learn right now that there is no magic program. As long as you're following a decent program/plan, you can get stronger than you are today. You just need to put in lots of hard work on a good basic program and EAT. Spend time getting stronger in the basics.

Why you aren't still following WS4SB or 5x5?

With the 5x5 i stalled on it because i ran it for 2 years. The WS4SB seems like it doesn't help me out with bench press. This is how i do my WS4SB setup:

Monday ME UPPER:
Bench press: work up to a 3 rep max
some type of dumbbell BP: 4x6
some type of row: 3x10
bicep curls: 3x8

Wednesday ME lower:
Box squat, good morning or deadlift: work up to 3 rep max
some kind of quad work: 4x6 (im weak at the top of the squat)
some kind of lower abck work: 3x8
abs: 3x12
shrugs : 2x12

I'm sure Chris will elaborate when you answer him about the bench press but I'll say that if you are a beginner and want to be a powerlifter you need more volume and need to build a solid foundation to work with. I know you said you did 5x5, etc, but doing 5x5 by yourself isn't necessarily pushing yourself to perform max effort on the three big lifts.
Matt Rhodes wrote a great article for Elite about being a beginner, you should check it out. http://www.elitefts.com/documents/getting_ready.htm
If Matt sees this and you are lucky he may chime in.